It’s become a tradition for Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Paul Component Engineering to collaborate on an off-the-wall bike to showcase at Sea Otter Classic and then raffle off to raise money for a select non-profit. An enigmatic headturner, this year’s collective build will benefit The Roam Collective and came together around a custom titanium frame made by HotSalad Bikes. Dedicated to women past and present in cycling, the Wild and Weird Sierra Roamer pays tribute to legendary mountain biker Jacquie Phelan and her Cunningham race bike, “Otto.” Take a closer look below and consider contributing to the raffle!
This is the 7th year in a row that Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. have asked us to build a custom one-off bike to show-off at Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, then giveaway to raise money for a non-profit. This year we wanted to help create a space at Sea Otter to focus on all the badass women in the cycling scene, and Sierra Nevada said “YES, let’s do that!” So we’ve partnered up with The Roam Collective, who will be doing a takeover at the Sierra Nevada Beer Garden during the event. They’ll be hosting some rad inclusivity panels, Shredtalks, and meetups. Then, we’ll be giving this bike away to a lucky winner as a way to raise money and awareness for Roam.
This bike is WILD and WEIRD, but if you’ve seen previous bikes we’ve collaborated on, you already know we refuse to bring boring bikes to Sea Otter. We dialed up B over at HotSalad Bicycles and explained what we were up to, and she came up with the brilliant idea of building a modern tribute to mountain biking’s original dirt crusher and advocate for women in cycling, Jacquie Phelan and her historic bike, “Otto”.
A replica of Jacquie Phelan’s Otto Bike and the Sierra Roamer
A blend of old school and cutting-edge tech, this has gotta be the only custom titanium, SRAM electronic Transmission equipped mountain bike with drop-bars, cloth handlebar tape, and a vintage Hite-Rite saddle dropper. If you’re having a hard time wrapping your head around this bike, take a look at some photos of Jacquie’s original race winning bike setup, and this will all start to make sense.
The titanium HotSalad frame is the real centerpiece here, with elegant internal cable routing, swoopy lines, and beautiful custom anodizing. B even made a custom titanium LD stem to complete the Otto concept. Jen Green crafted a gorgeous handmade headtube badge for this bike using copper, brass, bronze, and nickel. The bike is finished off with top-shelf components donated by White Industries, PAUL Component, Velocity USA, SimWorks, Ultradynamico, King Cage, Forager Cycles, and WTB.
Headed to Sea Otter this year? Check out the Roam Collective Instagram for a schedule of the panels they’ll be hosting, or stop by anytime to nerd out on the details of this wild rig in person. And hey, we’ll be there too, so you can drool on some PAUL Parts and ask us anything! Not going to Sea Otter? Head over to the Roam website anytime before May 16th, where every $5 you donate gets you an entry to win this totally unique one-of-a-kind whip, and help make mountain biking a more diverse, inclusive, and fun culture for everybody!
Special Thanks to the Collaborators:
- Titanium Frame and Stem by HotSalad Bicycles
- Brakes, Seatpost and Seatcollar by PAUL Component
- Cranks, Chainring, Bottom Bracket, Headset, and Hubs by White Industries
- Rims by Velocity USA
- Headtube Badge by Jen Green
- Titanium Bottle Cages by King Cage
- Handlebar, Cable housing, and Pedals by Simworks
- Tires by Ultradynamico
- Gravelier Saddle and Tire Sealant by WTB
- R7 Pro Fork by Manitou
- 12 Speed AXS Shifters, Derailleur, Chain, and Cassette by SRAM
- CNC Cable tips by Forager Cycles
- “Dropper” by Hite-RiteLink